MST3K 105 - The Corpse Vanishes
The movie Cody et al return to Earth, where Moon Men-hired goons Graber and Daly are waiting in ambush. A mad scientist kidnaps brides as a component in his work to maintain his wife's youthful appearance. The episode Host segments Prologue: Dr F brings Larry a bottle of Isaac Asimov Body Splash (part of the Foundation Trilogy gift set) from the Mad Scientist Convention. "It smells like space!" Invention Exchange: Joel demonstrates the "Chiro-gyro" and Clay presents the "Flame Throwing Flower". Segment Two: Tom and Crow read Tiger-Bot magazine, featuring a "dreamy" Commander Data and a dream date with Twiki. Segment Three: Crow, Tom, Gypsy and Joel play tag on the Satellite of Love. Segment Four: Crow runs his own barbershop. Segment Five: The Bots say a good thing and bad thing about the movie in exchange for a RAM chip, only for Tom to fail when he could not think of a good thing, and his head explodes. Obscure references *''" Ah, Gold N Plump Turkey?"'' ::Gold N Plump is a chicken processing corporation located in St Cloud, MN. Their advertising gained nationwide fame for their battle-ready, helmeted birds driving tanks or parachuting from airplanes. *''"Try not to look like Mr. Peanut." '' :Mr. Peanut is the corporate mascot for Planter's best known for his top hat, cane and monocle. *''"He never drinks coffee on our home planet."'' :Reference to a television advertisement for Folger's coffee. The wife gets upset that her husband "never has a second cup of coffee at home". *''"...the Macy's parade gone awry."'' :The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade presented by Macy's Department store. The most prominent feature of the parade is the huge balloons. *''"...kinda reminds me of Das Boot!"'' :Das Boot is a film about a German submarine and its crew. *''"Daddy, what's Vietnam?"'' :References a Time-Life commercial in the '80s for its "History of the Vietnam War" book series. In the commercial, a man and his son stand before the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. The son looks up, and asks "Daddy, what's Vietnam?". At which point, a voiceover somberly intones "A question a child might ask - but not a childish question." *''"I told you never to call me here!"'' :Line from the 1987 science fiction spoof , where President Skroob is reprimanding Commanderette Zircon for contacting him while he's using the restroom. *''"They're at the Cadillac Ranch!"'' :Cadillac Ranch is an art installation in Amarillo, Texas. Created in 1974, it consists of several Cadillacs buried nose deep into the ground similar to the pyramids of Giza and Stonehenge. *''""I'll remember that, stooge!" - Cub Reporter Pat Hunter'' :The bots proceed to make The Three Stooges sounds. *''"It's Nelson Eddy!"'' :Nelson Eddy was an American singer and movie star who resembles the actor on the screen. *''"Ponch! Jon!"'' : Ponch and Jon are the motorcycle patrolmen from the 70's TV show "CHiPs". *"Meanwhile back at the Addams family home..." :The Addams Family is a television comedy inspired by the work of cartoonist Charles Addams. It featured an eccentric and macabre family living in a gloomy mansion. It was later adapted into a feature film series and had several animated incarnations. *''"She's practicing for her role as Camille."'' :Camille is the stage play adapted from the novel La Dame aux Camélias by Alexandre Dumas, which has also been adapted into several films. The main character is a courtesan who is suffering from consumption, and the story has a famously sad ending. *''"Lovely, Lovely!"'' - Said by Joel when a creepy guy is stroking a girl's hair. :This is a reference to the necktie killer in Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy. *''"When a hunchback comes along, you must whip him. He's playing with your corpse, unless you whip him. It will not go away, you must whip him. Whip him, whip your hunchback."'' :Joel and Tom sing their version of Whip It by Devo. *''"Something stupid this way comes!"'' :A play on "something wicked this way comes", a phrase from Shakespeare's Macbeth. Said by the second witch in reference to Macbeth. *''"Ze plane! Ze plane!"'' :Crow says the phrase made famous by Herve Villechaize in Fantasy Island as a diminutive man is seen onscreen. *''"The weather started getting rough..."'' :Tom sings the theme to Gilligan’s Island as lightning is seen onscreen. *''"She's got legs and she knows how to use them."'' :Lyrics from the song "Legs" by ZZ Top *''"I've got to go back here and talk to the lion and the witch." - said as Bela Lugosi climbs into a wardrobe.'' :"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is a novel by C.S. Lewis *''"Dr. Denton! Dr. Scholls! Dr Pepper!"'' :Dr. Denton is a brand of blanket sleepers. Dr. Scholl's is a brand of foot care products. Dr Pepper is a soft drink. *''"I've got a bad feeling about this, Joel."'' :Crow seems to be a ''Star Wars'' fan. Several characters used this phrase throughout the series. *''"Little leg of the dog that bit him!"'' :"Hair of the dog that bit you" is a common phrase meaning to drink alcohol to cure a hangover. *''"Character actor Burgess Meredith!"'' :Burgess Meredith was a character actor best known for his gruff voice. He played the Penguin on the 1960s Batman TV series, and Mickey the trainer in the film Rocky. *''"Thank you, Shecky!"'' :Shecky Greene was a comedian known for his nightclub act in Las Vegas. *''"And now, right here in our very office..."'' :Said as a parody of Ed Sullivan, a popular television variety show host who would often introduce acts as being "right here on our stage". *''"A date that will live in infamy!"'' :References the "Day of Infamy" speech by FDR in which he asks Congress to declare war following the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. *''"It's the Notre Dame Fight song!"'' :Notre Dame Victory March is one of the most recognizable collegiate fight songs in the United States. *''"It's the sleeper!"'' :The sleeper hold (or chokehold) is an illegal move in wrestling. *''"Hey, Cloris, what's up?"'' :The actress seen onscreen somewhat resembles Cloris Leachman. *''"And his hair was perfect!"'' :From Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London", a 1970's rock song with the lyric: "I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic's, his hair was perfect." Behind the scenes MST3K cast Regular cast *Joel Hodgson - Joel Robinson *Trace Beaulieu - Crow T. Robot / Dr. Clayton Forrester *Josh Weinstein - Tom Servo / Dr. Laurence Erhardt *Jim Mallon - Gypsy MST3K crew Full crew Production * Tom Servo’s head blows up for the first time in the final segment. * Tom's Tiger Bot magazine is a take on the teen fan magazine . * At the end of segment 3, Joel runs down the doorway sequence and is run over by Cambot. This is the first time he’s done it in the national series, but he did it at least twice in KTMA episodes. * The prologue segment with Dr. Forrester returning from the Mad Scientists Convention was reworked from SST Death Flight. * The segment with Joel and the bots playing tag only to have Joel cheat was used previously in Humanoid Woman. *In segment 4, references are made to a variety of Eastern Minnesota and Western Wisconsin locales and institutions including the Hot Fish Shop http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2004/03/20/news/00lead.txt also referenced in episode 1001(Soultaker), Ellsworth, Wisconsin, and Bixby, Minnesota. This sketch is a remake of a sketch originally done in episode K10 - Cosmic Princess. Goofs Movie Edits Like most riffed movies, The Corpse Vanishes was altered to fit the TV aspect ratio and several scenes were trimmed slightly to reduce the overall length of the film for the desired time-slot. Video releases *Commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in December 2009 as part of Volume XVI, a 4-disc set along with Warrior of the Lost World, Santa Claus, and Night of the Blood Beast. **The DVD includes a theatrical trailer. *Digitally available through Shout's official Youtube channel (with annotations), Shoutfactorytv.com, Amazon Instant Video, Rifftrax, iTunes, Vudu, and VHX. Gallery References Corpse Vanishes, The Corpse Vanishes, The Corpse Vanishes, The Category:Episodes directed by Jim Mallon